Coolidge's biography follows Gandhi from the small seaport town of Porbandar, where he was born in 1869, to London and South Africa of the early twentieth century, and through the eras of the two world wars. During much of this time, India was still a colony of Great Britain. The book ends with Gandhi's assassination in 1948 as India adjusts to gradual liberation from its colonial past and to tension between its two major religious groups, Moslems and Hindus.

In the portion of the book delineating Gandhi's early life, the author sets the stage for his political and spiritual ideals, showing how they develop from his experiences. She covers Gandhi's years in South Africa, where he personally experiences racial prejudice and decides to fight back with nonviolent resistance. Coolidge not only gives the facts about his life but places Gandhi's achievements in historical context.